It can’t be overstated how significant this ispublished at 19:27 GMT
Noor Nanji
Culture reporter
After a couple of weeks of intense scrutiny on Prince Andrew, it did feel as if an announcement like this was a case of when, not if.
But it still can’t be overstated how significant a move this is.
For someone who enjoys the trappings of royal life, this will be a personal blow, and likely very humiliating, for Andrew.
He is losing his prince title, and leaving his Windsor mansion, Royal Lodge – just weeks after giving up his other royal titles, including the Duke of York.
The negotiations won’t have been easy. But the palace will have been well aware of the mood music, and how all of this looks to the public.
There has been an increased focus on Andrew’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, and today it’s clear that that pressure just got too much.
Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing.
But the last words in today’s statement are telling. The King and Queen are making it very clear that their “thoughts and utmost sympathies” have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.
